February 04, 2024 | Quiet Counsel | 8 min read

It has been a volatile few years in capital markets. Both equity and fixed income portfolios posted strong returns in 2023, with significant help from a fourth-quarter rally that boosted modest (non-US) equity returns and saved bond markets from another negative year. The year also provided a significant turnaround from 2022, when investors were left in shock as stock and bond returns were simultaneously in the red for the first time in two decades. Figure 1: Capital Market Returns, 2018 – 2023 Source: Bloomberg. Over this period, we’ve counseled calm – including when markets were selling off after the Federal...